After squatting and sitting and bending for about 30 minutes or so, I figured it was time to head on back to Austin. I got in the car, and...NO CAR KEYS. All the rest of my keys were in my pocket. But my car key and the fob were not. It was a strange feeling. And a little kick in the gut realizing they were out there in the bluebonnets...somewhere...

As I was traipsing through the lupus blooms, I was talking to the Universe...I realized there must be a lesson I needed to learn. And I promised to ponder and learn, but could I please find my keys and go home?

Eric's dad, aka The Household Male, was about 30 miles ahead of me in his truck. I called and he came back to assist in the search. The prospect of driving 2 1/2 hours to Austin, returning to the car, and then driving back - total of 7.5 hours - was not appealing.

Then I remembered that I have AAA! Hooray!

The young man I spoke with was very pleasant, but I couldn't give him any landmarks. Nothing around except cows. Not very helpful. We spoke quite a while - the call lasted almost 12 minutes. I sat in the car, I walked up and down the road, still no landmarks. He was looking for a locksmith that would find me, somehow, between Corsicana and Dawson on the side of the road with the cows, and make a key for my Santa Fe. He promised to call back.

As I disconnected the call, it occurred to me I could find myself on Google Maps and perhaps give the locksmith a better landmark than brown cows and bluebonnets. I found myself as a little blue dot close to a recognizable cross-road and I looked down and saw my keys.

I had been back and forth over that spot several times. But there they were. A third Hooray, this time shouted really loudly.

As I started a call to AAA to let them know all was well, my phone told me there was no cell service. Which was strange, considering I'd been filling the airwaves just a minute before, and that Household Male had cell service. I reattached my car keys to my key ring, started up the engine, and proceeded to Austin without a hitch. Was able to get cell service and cancel the locksmith call. All is well.

And I think somebody was watching over me and/or the Household Male. There was a wreck on I35, that we may or may not have been caught up in. Who can say what a delay will cause, or prevent? But the circumstances are just too wondrous for me to think anything other than there was no lesson to be learned - just gratitude that somebody somewhere has my back.